The Cultural Phenomena of Selfies

The impact of the SELFIE on our culture has started to intrigue me. As I see my little granddaughter love looking at (and taking) pictures and videos of herself on the iPhone and iPad… I wonder what the long term impact will be. There are very few images of me, due to the fact that taking and developing images was expensive and I was a second child. The culture of taking photos back then (beyond for special occasions) was not common.

In wonder about the impact of selfies on our culture? I wonder if there is a difference in views on selfies, what types of selfies and meaning of them in different cultures around the world?

For now I am consciously aware of, documenting and follow the evolution of the selfie in my own family, at school, in different countries I visit and in the media.

Image credit Elena- 22 months (picked her own filters too)

Image (taking with Laptop webcam) by Elena- 7 months old

My iPhoneography class at school collaborated on a list of TYPES OF SELFIES, and came up with the following

Dove, the creator of the Photoshop Transformation video, created another important video. This time about girls and their power to create their own image of beauty and redefine the view of society on beauty.

In partnership with the Sundance Institute, directed by Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Cynthia Wade and produced by Sharon Liese, Sefie reveals how we have the power to redefine what is beautiful in all of us. Selfie captures the digital journey of a group of high school girls and their mothers, as they create a new type of selfie – one that celebrates their unique beauty. Dove wants to inspire all women to redefine beauty

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One thought on “The Cultural Phenomena of Selfies”

What an interesting blog post! I think the culture of the selfie is very interesting and very complex. Although it would be easy to disregard them as shallow and narcissistic, they are an expression of shared experience and an insight into self-identity. I’m amazing at how easily all of my Pre-K 4 students use Smart phones and take selfies. Thank you for creating such a wonderful resource.
Hillary
@hcpolchowhttp://www.polchowhillaryedm510.blogspot.com